Displays

Located in the northern part of the Pingtung Plain of southern Taiwan, the town of Meinong is surrounded by Jade Mountain Range in the northeast, Laonong River in the south. After a period of land management and social operation in the Qing Dynasty, Hakka ethnic groups kept traditional lifestyle in Meinong. In the Qing Dynasty, the settlement development of Meinong was mainly distributed in the northern as a result of Laonong River usually flooded and deposited to alluvial fans with gravel and developed hardly in the southern. Until the Japanese colonization period, the Japanese government and the private enterprise begun to develop the alluvial fan. This study has two mainly purposes to analyze. First, the cooperation relationship between private enterprise and government. Second, the social operation and interaction between the original residents and immigrants in Meinong by the new developments that through existing research, literature review, field study and mapping.

In 1908, the Japanese government constructed Shihzihtou Irrigation System to irrigate a new reclamation site in the south of Meinong and set up a dike to block flood on the right bank of the Laonong River. In 1909, the Governor's House gave the permission to the private enterprise—Sanwu Company—to develope the NanLong farm. The NanLong farm attracted the nearby Hoklo ethnic group, the Hakka group of the northern Taiwan and the families of the old tribes of Meinong came here for reclamation. 

The NanLong farm is alluvial soil of sandstone and shale, so it is conducive to agricultural development. It mainly grows the second-phase rice, sucrose, banana and miscellaneous grain crops. The NanLong farm controlled as a committee, representatives were from the settlements of new reclamation site and farm manager who was councilman. That built up a local society center on the NanLong farm, it was different from Meinong was mainly distributed in the northern that was center on the town office. Through state resources supported the private enterprise and private enterprise provided job opportunities for immigranst, the south of Meinong became liveable, culturally inclusive and sustainable landscapes from a alluvial fans with gravel.

How to cite: Zhou, H.-J. and Hsu, S.-C.: Government, Private Enterprise and Ethnic to Build Up Local Society In South Meinong(1989s-1945s), EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-4449, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-4449, 2020.

Bare land is common on hillsides and may occur due to landslides, cultivated lands, or engineering construction sites. The purpose of this study is to analyze the visual preference of treatment of bare land on hillside. The treatment methods for bare land are classified into ecological engineering, non-ecological engineering, and natural recovery or vegetation. For this study, first, several images of areas in North Taiwan that experienced landslides or engineering construction were collected, including Daan and Shilin districts in Taipei city, Wugu, Shiding and Tamsui districts in New Taipei city, and Fuxing district in Taoyuan city. Then, Photoshop software was used for image processing and for calculation of percentage of vegetation cover on the bare land, i.e., the green looking ratio (GR). Furthermore, a questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate the visual preference (P) and the cognitive factor of an image associated with the GR. Three cognitive factors, consistency (C), vividness (V), and naturalness (N), were used for the survey. A total of 131 effective questionnaires were received from survey respondents and the Likert scale was used to rate the degree of visual preference and cognition. The rating values ranged from 1 to 5. The results show that a higher N, V, and C was preferred by viewers when the bare land was covered with vegetation or high GR. The factors C, V, N, and P for treatment of bare land using ecological engineering method are higher than those using non-ecological engineering. The adopted natural or flexible methods to treat bare land prompt visual preferences from viewers and can provide important references for landscape engineering design.

How to cite: Chen, J.-C., Chang, Y.-C., and Huang, W.-S.: Visual preference for treatment of bare land on hillside, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-10154, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-10154, 2020.

The world is facing a future where geoscience issues with significant social impact are increasingly central, including climate change, clean water, energy and resource management (e.g. mining, fracking), and natural disasters. The disposition of the next generation of citizens, as future voters and as future scientists, is vital if the world is to meet the challenges of rising temperatures, rising sea levels, and rising incidences of natural disasters. This paper arises from ongoing educational research undertaken in Irish secondary schools, examining student engagement with and understanding of geoscientific topics. Earth Science is included in the new Science syllabus in Ireland for 12 - 15 year old students (lower secondary level), but so far, no one has studied Irish students’ attitudes towards Earth Science. This is a mixed-methods study involving a survey of secondary schools in Ireland, including urban and rural, and mixed- and single-gender schools. Students representative in age and demographics of the participants are included as consultant voices at multiple stages in the study. Preliminary results from this study will be discussed in detail, focusing on student attitudes towards Earth Science as global and Irish citizens; how they conceptualise human interdependence with and on the planet; and how they consider themselves in different ways connected to or independent from the Earth, the study of Earth Science, and students or children their age elsewhere on the planet facing similar challenges in the era of climate change. 

How to cite: Neenan, E. E. and Roche, J.: The Earth Is Out There: Attitudes Of Irish Secondary Students Towards Earth Science, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-11336, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-11336, 2020.

Our world’s climate is changing at an alarming rate. We as physicists and STEM practitioners have a responsibility to act by providing solutions to better understand how our planet works (IOP 2019-23 strategy, 2019). This requires rethinking our modes of social interaction and raises two communication challenges, so far neglected by our scientific community. Firstly, as climate change is a global effect, physicists are faced with the imperative to learn from and engage with each other beyond siloed specialisations in order to produce a coherent and integrated understanding of the earth system. Whilst a lot is known about the climate system (future warming implications are well established), there are also significant gaps in our knowledge as to how the physics of the climate system works, and in how society interprets this knowledge (IPCC, 2019). Better understanding of chaotic and turbulent dynamic phenomena, such as wave-based eigenmode phenomena, can enhance our predictive capacity. The changes to our climate are causing impacts which alter societal resilience. There is recognition of the need to develop sophisticated and complementary approaches: “research is still often ‘siloed’ in physical modelling, ecosystem modelling, social sciences etc.”, “Researchers who can cross boundaries between these disciplines will help accelerate research in the areas” (IPCC, 2019; 6-62). Secondly, we as physicists need to ensure that the knowledge we produce helps the general audience understanding of what is at stake, and informs policy-makers in making appropriate decisions to create more resilience (ranging from local community planning to global level governance). This raises a challenge in regards to communication towards non-scientific audiences. We have access to a large knowledge base due to the sophistication of how we now collect, simulate and derive insight about our earth system. How we use this knowledge, and socially recognise the actors in the global community forms the way we as a physics community prioritise and influence decision choices. Unfortunately, the lack of focus on knowledge communication within the physics community hinders our capacity to fulfil these responsibilities. In this discussion, we introduce the idea of “discourse position” and show how a greater acknowledgement of the discursive dimensions of research can help physicists produce more innovative knowledge, broader engagement and therefore enhance the community understanding of the physics of the earth system. Indeed, scientific knowledge is produced through discourse. Therefore, a better understanding of the use of discourses and knowledge is part of how we identify and apprehend their effects, and a necessary step to produce discourses and knowledge that help us to create a world consistent with our values and objectives (Alejandro, 2019). We explain here some social science concepts about scientific communication and discourse positions, to help inform the direction of current and future climate physics research.

IPCC, (2019): Summary for Policymakers.

IOP Strategy (2019), Unlocking the Future, Strategy 2019 – 2023.

Audrey Alejandro (2019), Western dominance in International Relations? The Internationalisation of IR in Brazil and India, London and New York: Routledge.

How to cite: Bruun, J. and Alejandro, A.: Talking about the physics of climate change, what we know and what extra could we do?, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-11815, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-11815, 2020.

We present a British Academy funded Knowledge Frontiers project which brought together an interdisciplinary  team of social (Anthropology, Education, Human Geography, Politics) and scientific (Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science) researchers to explore the implications of bioethanol-from-cellulose reactors, a novel technology that may provide an innovative, partial solution to the global need for sustainable fuels. These reactors utilize ‘waste’ biomass, either residue from crops or that which can be grown on ‘marginal lands’, thus producing (second generation) biofuels while avoiding the “food versus fuel” debate. The team analysed assumptions inherent within this approach and considered how to interact with this innovation/implementation process to maximally address broader social and environmental goals. 

As a research community we queried the priorities and criteria used in developing new technological solutions and investigated how decisions were made across a range of stakeholders. We focused specifically on a case study of the first large-scale second generation bio-refinery, located in Brazil. Developing ongoing and consistent relationships between social scientists and natural scientists were key to delivering project aims, including documentation of the processes of learning/interacting that we engaged in as a team and ongoing dialogues across research assumptions and expectations within different disciplines. 

Key components of the interdisciplinary process that appeared to be necessary for success included i) providing sustained and open opportunities for interaction between researchers to develop effective communication across disciplines, ii) explicitly exploring discipline-specific taken-for-granted assumptions and identifying what individuals understand when talking about key terms and processes (in this case these included, for example, ‘sustainable’, ‘development’, ‘methodology’, ‘marginal land’ and ‘research outputs’), iii) creating solidarity within the research community, which is critical for effective interaction between disciplines and cultures. This interplay between disciplines provides an innovative way to influence decision-making in science directly, especially at early stages of development. By directly addressing these requirements, multi/transdisciplinary challenges can be addressed in a manner which is more open, more critical and more able to reveal most effective solutions.

How to cite: Redeker, K., Brown, E., Brooks, S., Dunlop, L., Kirshner, J., Friend, R., and Walton, P.: Intervening in interventions: Exploring the implications of novel technologies through multidisciplinary lenses., EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-14191, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-14191, 2020.

The Mediterranean coasts are subject to multiple environmental risks (erosion of the coastline, marine submersion, flooding, degradation of water quality) and overdeveloped anthropogenic pressures (urbanization, tourism, agriculture, industry, etc.). These natural and anthropogenic pressures already affect water resources and dependent coastal wetlands. For these coastlines, which are particularly rich in biodiversity, the consequences could get worse in the coming years as a result of climate change. In this context of increasing pressures, understanding the dynamics/trajectories of coastal hydrosystems appears to be the only robust approach allowing the establishment of integrated water resource management and territorial sustainability.  

To this end, this study proposes to demonstrate how the transdisciplinary approach between environmental sciences (hydrology, hydrogeology, hydroecology and geosciences) and human sciences (geography, cartography, history, anthropology) allows the production of a particularly rich common knowledge, which makes it possible to accurately analyze the dynamics and trajectories of coastal hydrosystems. Two coastal hydrosystems have been studied: the Biguglia lagoon (Corsica, France) and l’Etang de l’Or (Hérault, France), through a detailed analysis of (i) the uses, practices, behavior and state of the coastal hydrosystems (surface and ground waters, lagoon and associated wetlands), (ii) planning and development policies and issues, and (iii) the governance of these spaces. Thanks to this information, it is thus possible to describe and to analyze the evolution of coastal hydrosystems over time. The correlation between the understanding of the hydrodynamic behavior of systems and socio-economic dynamics of land use planning allows the identification of causal links between anthropogenic development and the status of resources. Thanks to this collaborative work, the chronology and identification of resource degradation processes could be traced. By understanding the contemporary issues, the transdisciplinary approach provides new basis for thinking about the anticipation, the adaptation and the sustainable management of coastal hydrosystems.

How to cite: Erostate, M., Ghiotti, S., Huneau, F., Garel, E., and Pasqualini, V.: The transdisciplinary approach on coastal hydrogeosystems: tracing back socioenvironmental trajectories and water policies evolution to improve their management and adaptability, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-18425, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-18425, 2020.

We report the initial findings of the ‘T’ephra Bag citizen science project, a one-year pilot study that commenced in October 2019. This initiative, which is directed at primary school students and their families, aims to test the chemical weathering potential of tephra (volcanic ash) when buried in a pot of local soil and planted with a common grass species. A parallel aim is to raise awareness among participants of the potential of geological-based solutions for climate change through the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration in the atmosphere. A second aim of the project is to investigate participants’ perceptions of climate change and carbon emission reduction technologies and to test the effectiveness of such citizen science initiatives in changing the attitudes and perceptions of school children. 

How to cite: Kwasniewska, K., Lacchia, A., Schuitema, G., and McElwain, J.: T’ephra Bag citizen science project: initial findings, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-19065, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-19065, 2020.

We will report on preliminary results and present plans for the continuation of an international project, ACTOM. The overall objective of ACTOM is to develop internationally applicable capabilities to design and execute adequate, rigorous and cost-effective monitoring of offshore carbon storage projects, aligning industrial, societal and regulative expectations with technological capabilities and limitations.

At the core of the project is a web based pre-operational tool-kit that will deliver new abilities to design a site specific marine monitoring program that will ultimately:

• enable regulators to quantifiably assess that a proposed monitoring strategy delivers an acceptable standard of assurance,
• enable operators to properly plan, cost and adapt monitoring strategies to site specific circumstances,
• enable regulators and operators to communicate to the effectiveness of proposed monitoring strategies to enable informed societal consensus in view of marine spatial planning.

Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) is an approach to anticipate and assess implications and expectations of new technologies on the society, a framework increasingly being used in marine environmental studies and in biotechnology and innovation. We use this framework on Carbon Capture Usage and Storage (CCUS), considering the technology in view of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. In an extension of this, potential legal conflicts between storage projects or other uses of the seas, will be addressed in view of marine spatial planning. 

By viewing CCUS and offshore storage in view of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and in the RRI framework, the aim is to ease communicating the benefits of the technology while addressing the uncertainties and risks in a coherent way.

This work is part of the project ACTOM, funded through the ACT programme (Accelerating CCS Technologies, Horizon2020 Project No 294766). Financial contributions made from; The Research Council of Norway, (RCN), Norway, Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), Netherlands, Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) together with extra funding from NERC and EPSRC research councils, United Kingdom, US-Department of Energy (US-DOE), USA. In-kind contributions from the University of Bergen are gratefully acknowledged.

How to cite: Alendal, G., Blackford, J., Carpentier, S., Cremer, H., Dankel, D. J., Dewar, M., Fagerås, B., Gasda, S. E., Gundersen, K., Heffron, R., Lien, M., Oleynik, A., Omar, A., Pawar, R., Romanak, K., Snee, D., Schütz, S. E., and Torabi, P.: Monitoring offshore CO2 storage projects, aligning capabilities with regulations and public expectations., EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-20108, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-20108, 2020.

Critical Zone Observatories (CZO) have the potential to offer a holistic, social-ecological systems approach to understanding of agricultural systems. They allow us to consider the inter-linkages of nutrients, water and human interactions across the landscape, to help society better achieve UN sustainable development goals. Here we report on how two different work packages of a multi-partner (UK and China), multi-university project are working together, at the geoscience – social science interface. Social science surveys were used to gain an understanding of knowledge exchange pathways, learning preferences and social dynamics in three regions of China that can usefully inform the design of decision support tools (DSTs). These DSTs are being developed to provide information to users about the consequences of their actions (e.g. effects of fertiliser on water quality) and to identify where changed practice may alleviate degradation of ecosystem services.

Our work assesses these tools through a Critical Zone (CZ) perspective focusing on farmers, agricultural policy makers (village to county scale) and farm advisors in Chinese agriculture. We explored the best pathways to deliver applicable DSTs in three different Chinese rural areas. We undertook: 1) surveys of Chinese (n = 27) and British (n = 16) scientists researching CZ science in China and 2) surveys and interviews of local stakeholders (592 farmers; 77 officials). This identified how knowledge was exchanged between researchers and users, and what are the preferred and effective ways of knowledge sharing. These data were used to develop a conceptual model of the science-policy-practice interface; identifying different routes for DST knowledge exchange. Alongside this, we carried out a systematic review of over 400 existing DSTs worldwide to identify tools that were: a) suitable for use in China (e.g. lower data requirements); b) had environmental protection goals and c) provided outputs which provide specific support to stakeholders in decisions. Few tools reviewed explained their approaches to KE or engagement with users or assessed the environmental impacts of agricultural practice. Our analysis highlights the need for more interdisciplinary DSTs that are co-produced with users and include both environmental consequences and financial incentives alongside parameters such as crop yield.

How to cite: Naylor, L., Zheng, Y., Oyesiku-Blakemore, J., Dennis, S., Oliver, D., Yang, S., Waldron, S., and Hallet, P.: Knowledge exchange to guide decision support tool development for Chinese agriculture – an example of social science meeting geoscience for sustainable agriculture , EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-20384, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-20384, 2020.

The Mekong Delta in Southern Vietnam is one of the most at risk places globally to the effects of climate change and sea level rise, specifically in terms of flooding. It is predicted to change drastically over the next 100 years, with additional human-driven actions (such as sand mining and groundwater extraction) expected to exasperate the speed and severity of said change. Understanding the existing perceptions of those that will face these future challenges, and what contributes to forming those perceptions, is a critical underpinning required for the success of any future resilience and mitigation initiatives. A holistic view that takes account of these varying influences on societal perceptions, resilience and education needs to be taken. 

One of the most vulnerable groups to the consequences of climate change, and indeed the citizens that will go on to tackle the majority of challenges we are predicted to face in the future, is children. For this reason alone, ascertaining their perceptions and understandings, along with the influences and sources that shape their views, is paramount.

This paper will present the findings from a project that explored local children’s perceptions of climate change in the heart of the Mekong Delta. Creative and arts-based methods enabled children’s voices to be heard. Combined with further policy analysis and interviews with parents, teachers and government officials, these voices have been further contextualised within their socio-cultural context and environment. Through developing an understanding of these perceptions and the influencing factors, a more effective and holistic approach to shaping children’s climate change resilience can be executed, which will ultimately enhance a society’s ability to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change into the future. 

How to cite: Halstead, F., Parsons, D., Jones, L., and Hackney, C.: I’ll be dead by the time it happens: Children’s Perceptions of Climate Change in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam , EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-20654, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-20654, 2020.

Uncertainty is a feature of all science, but geoscientists tend to operate under a higher degree of uncertainty at every level of scientific decision making (Bárdossy and Fodor, 2001). Geoscientists work in fundamentally less predictable environments, where direct observation and experimental control are difficult or impossible due to the large time spans of geologic processes. We are cognitive psychologists who collaborate with geoscientists to better understand the influence of uncertainty on geologic decision making, and to identify the ways expert scientists constrain decision making using heuristics (i.e., rules of thumb).

This presentation will review our work on geologic decision making under uncertainty, focusing on how scientists use heuristics when making spatiotemporal data collection decisions. Our research demonstrates that, when the gradient of data value in the environment is uncertain, scientists use heuristics to decide where to go (in space) to collect data. Heuristics are efficient and effective in many circumstances, but can leave experts vulnerable to decision bias. In ongoing research, we explore whether new field workflows (uncertainty mapping) or mobile robotic platforms (terrestrial, aerial) can debias decision making. Our research agenda is translational, with the goal of improving scientists’ interpretation of geologic phenomena in the field.

How to cite: Wilson, C. and Shipley, T.: On uncertainty in geoscience decision making, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-20882, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-20882, 2020.

Ecosystem services are based on ecosystem functions which are ecological structures and processes. The forest carbon is important factors to understand the quality of the forest ecosystem as well as the quantity of greenhouse gas sequestration as the climate regulation service. The forest carbon can be assessed by various spatio-temporal modelling which reflects forest growth and management activities in the aspects of ecosystem function. In addition, this constructs the potential supply-side value of forest carbon. However, the value of forest carbon is affected by public interests and socio-economic circumstances. Thus, the demand-side value of forest carbon depends on the value recognitions. This study focused on the gap between the value from modelling of ecosystem functions and value recognitions according to the social survey in the Republic of Korea. As the pilot study, three modelling methods were applied based on the National Forest Inventory, the Statistical Yearbook of Forestry, and the InVEST models. The acceptable forest carbon values were generated from a social survey. The annual CO₂ sequestration as the supply was derived from 45,671,000 ton CO₂ to 53,306,000 ton CO₂ in 2010 and 2015, respectively, with different modellings in South Korea. This converted the economic value from existing value transfer methods around KRW 545.2 billion minimum to KRW 4.948.2 maximum. The demand is indiscriminate and non-exclusive, so the public survey was conducted using 660 and 510 samples with ±3.10 allowable error. With considering the value from the demand, the value of forest carbon ecosystem services can be KRW 594,280 per ha when recognized as the equilibrium demand and supply of ecosystem services. The assessment framework for ecosystem services considering demand and supply may consist of various forms and can help fill the gap in value recognition in societal policy through ecosystem services assessment. However, the conceptual complexity of the ecosystem services still exists, so enhancing public communication is required among policymakers, stakeholders, and local communities.

How to cite: Song, C., Park, E., Kim, J., Kim, M., and Lee, W.-K.: Application of Assessment Framework for Forest Carbon Ecosystem Services Considering Various Modelling and Social Survey in South Korea, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-21233, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-21233, 2020.